Counting To Fifteen [Grey's Anatomy]

chapter fifty six - petri dishes & busy dads

Daisy noted that Dr. Sen's office was pretty much the same, with the exception of the office walls having been repainted.

His walls used to be a dark blue, a cool tone that felt calming and comfortable.

The new paint that covered the plaster was an ugly beige, and Daisy thought it was hideous. It bothered her so much that it became the only thing she could fixate on, tuning out Dr. Sen's words.

Daisy wished she was bold enough to share how much she disliked the new choice of paint. She wanted to tear it down with her own fingers.

Who on Earth had decided that beige was a more beautiful color than blue?

"Is something wrong?"

Daisy hadn't listened to a word Dr. Sen had spoken in the few moments she had been sat in his office, but the tone of his voice brought her back to reality.

"No."

"Did you hear what I asked?"

"No, sorry." Daisy shook her head, looking directly at Dr. Sen as she tore her gaze from the ugliest shade of paint she'd ever laid her eyes on. "Sorry, I zoned out. I'm listening. What's wrong?"

"I asked how things have been."

"In which aspect?"

If she were to go into depth about everything she had felt and experienced since she last saw her psychiatrist, the two would be sitting in chairs for the rest of the night. There was so much.

"How have things been at home?" Dr. Sen specified, thinking maybe it would help Daisy answer if he broke up his question.

"Pretty bad."

"Bad?" Dr. Sen frowned, not expecting that answer. The last time he had spoken to the girl, she was making leaps and strides toward a positive relationship with Mark. "Is your relationship with your dad shaky again?"

"No, we're good. He's great."

Dr. Sen was struggling to piece together, then, how things at home had been bad for Daisy.

The girl realized she was being too cryptic as she cleared her throat, speaking a bit louder this time. "Bad was the wrong word, I guess. It's not bad, it's...lonely."

Mark worked all the time.

There wasn't any sort of pick up in shifts, his schedule hadn't changed a bit. He had always worked long and grueling hours, but it had only recently started to matter.

Daisy used to love when Mark was gone all day simply because she didn't like the man. The girl recalled how she had felt at ease without Mark's presence two years prior, kept company by a college-student nanny and a vibrant little sister.

Now that she actually enjoyed Mark's company, it was scarcely available for her to even enjoy in the first place. Without the young nanny that had been fired and the vibrant little sister that had dissipated like smoke, Daisy's days felt particularly lonely with no one around.

"Have you brought this up?"

Daisy shook her head slowly. The girl never wanted to poison any time they did have together by speaking about matters that would bring about a somber mood.

"It's okay though, 'cause I get it. There are people here that are dying. There are people here that need him a lot more than I do."

Dr. Sen hesitated, cocking his head slightly to the side. "Sure, but...I don't think that's fair. You need Mark too. I really think you need to talk to him—"